Martin Speake, Nikki Iles, Duncan Hopkins, Anthony Michelli - Secret

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 78:30
Size: 180,1 MB
Art: Front

(5:14) 1. Secret Place
(3:42) 2. Veils
(6:47) 3. The Heron
(6:20) 4. Oncology
(5:09) 5. J.T.'s Symmetrical Scale
(8:15) 6. The Thrill Is Gone
(5:31) 7. Westerly
(5:09) 8. Coventry
(1:53) 9. So To Speake
(5:27) 10. Fly's Dilemma
(5:14) 11. Nikki
(8:05) 12. Secret Wood
(6:53) 13. Willow (For Mick Hutton)
(4:43) 14. Luiza

Secret is a cooperative quartet comprised of British altoist Martin Speake and pianist Nikki Iles, together with Canadian bassist Duncan Hopkins and drummer Anthony Michelli. Their eponymous debut as a unit, recorded in the fall of 2000 in London, is a 79-minute opportunity to hear a new combo. All but two of the compositions are written by Iles (5), Speake (5) and Hopkins (2).

The most immediate reason for celebration is the work of Martin Speake. He has more than a passing resemblance to Jackie McLean and carries the torch of post bop into the new millennium without a glance backwards. His styling is that of a bopper with the fluency of a Charles McPherson in the mid-1960s updated to today's scene. Speake was responsible for the formation of the group and they seem to mesh very well together. In fact, the others record and tour as a working unit as the Nikki Iles Trio.

The album begins in a ballad or mid-tempo fashion, almost leisurely, on the first four tracks. On "J.T.'s Symmetrical Scale" Speake picks it up and interplay with Iles leads into an acerbic solo. Michelli uses brushes throughout on the tune. Speake also plays aggressively on "Fly's Dilemma," followed by a surging piano solo by Iles. B.B. King may have advised all that "The Thrill is Gone," but on Secret's updating of the Brown & Henderson standard, an attractive ballad delivery becomes a funky showcase.

In all, most of the original tunes are fine vehicles for ensemble and solo performance, and the album concludes with Jobim's "Luiza." Since this album, the different group members have recorded on several other Basho albums. Speake has a pending ECM release with Bobo Stenson and Paul Motian and expects to be signed to the label. His duo album My Ideal with Ethan Iverson, pianist for the Bad Plus, was released by Basho in spring of 2004.By Michael P. Gladstone https://www.allaboutjazz.com/secret-martin-speake-basho-records-review-by-michael-p-gladstone

Personnel: Martin Speake, alto sax; Nikkii Iles,piano; Duncan Hopkins,bass; Anthony Michelli,drums.

Secret

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Martin Speake - Generations

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2008
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 54:36
Size: 125,3 MB
Art: Front

( 3:56)  1. My Melancholy Baby
(10:12)  2. I'm a Fool to Want You
( 7:54)  3. In Love In Vain
( 7:20)  4. I Wish I Knew
( 8:37)  5. Jitterbug Waltz
( 6:07)  6. All The Way
( 6:17)  7. Donna Lee
( 4:10)  8. Just A Gigolo

British altoist Martin Speake isn't as well-known as he ought to be, but he may well be the clearest successor to the unadorned, warm-toned approach of the legendary Lee Konitz. But while Konitz has undeniably led a career defined by diversity, Speake has stretched considerably farther, with albums ranging from the Indo centric The Journey (Black Box, 2004) and uniquely modern, guitar-centric take on Charlie Parker (Jazzizit, 2005), to accessible free improvisation with percussionist Mark Sanders on Spark (Pumpkin, 2007) and original composition with an all-star band on Change of Heart (ECM, 2006). Generations harkens back to his intriguingly minimalist take on standards, Exploring Standards (33 Jazz, 2003), but instead of a saxophone trio turning a variety of well-heeled tunes into concise miniatures, Generations features a quartet that lets the music stretch out further. Generations refers to a quartet of players ranging from youthful pianist Barry Green to middle- aged Speake bassist Dave Green and American drummer Jeff Williams, who still has plenty of years left in him but is now heading into senior citizen territory. It also references Speake's choice of material largely well-known tunes that date as far back as "My Melancholy Baby" (1912) and "Jitterbug Waltz" (1930) to Generation's most recent song, the 1957 Van Heusen/Cahn chestnut, "All the Way."

Speake's relationship with Williams dates back four years to a chance meeting at one of Speake's gigs in the UK. Since then they've worked together occasionally in different contexts, and while this quartet is new there's a comfort level and relaxed ambience that feels as though they've been playing together for years. The group kicks things up on the bebop classic "Donna Lee," but takes its good time getting there, with Speake beginning on his own and implicitly defining the tune's changes through improvised melody alone. He's joined by Barry Green for some in tandem interplay before Dave Green enters, with Williams not completing the picture until well into the tune, signalling the quartet to play the familiar, serpentine melody...then bringing things to a full stop, only to begin the same process again but at a brighter tempo. It's a strong example of how Speake has always managed to find fresh ways to cover familiar terrain. 

But even when the group is playing with great energy as it does on an unexpectedly up-tempo opener, "My Melancholy Baby," which starts with a fiery exchange between Speake and Williams it never seems to break a sweat. A lengthy look at the appropriately triste ballad, "I'm a Fool to Want You," features Speake at his most lyrical, even as he scopes out new corners on an extended solo that's supported with increasing verve by Barry Green, who takes an equally strong solo defined by broad dynamics and nuanced variation. Generations is a decidedly mainstream effort for Speake, but as ever he's still finding subtle ways to push the envelope. The material may be familiar, but the approaches are new, making Generations an appealing disc that's never short on substance.By John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/generations-martin-speake-pumpkin-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Martin Speake: alto saxophone; Barry Green: piano; Dave Green: double-bass; Jeff Williams: drums.

Generations

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Martin Speake - My Ideal

Bitrate: 320K/s

Time: 40:12

Size: 92.0 MB

Styles: Saxophone jazz

Year: 2004

Art: Front

[5:53] 1. Everything Happens To Me

[4:13] 2. My Ideal

[4:06] 3. What Is This Thing Called Love

[4:39] 4. So In Love

[5:40] 5. Loverman

[3:05] 6. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

[3:34] 7. Stardust

[5:36] 8. How Insensitive

[3:22] 9. You Must Believe In Spring

British alto saxophonist Speake duets with a regular Transatlantic associate, the composer and pianist Ethan Iverson - better known as one-third of the lively and now fashionable genre-breakout band the Bad Plus. Although that full-on trio's robust irony, percussion-driven ferocity and raucous reworking of old pop hits is on another, noisier planet to these stripped-down duets exploring standards and ballads, including Michel Legrand's You Must Believe in Spring and a variety of Cole Porters, Jerome Kerns and a Jobim. But Speake's soft tone and undemonstrative audacity found an excellent counterpoise in Iverson, who is as likely to veer off into streams of classical arpeggios as he is to play swing or stride, though he does plenty of those too.

This music was recorded in December 2002 (and produced by Iain Ballamy, no stranger to saxophone understatement) when the pair were touring the UK, and their absorbing live show is recalled by Iverson's technically-sweeping free-classical upsurge after Speake's smoke-rings on Everything Happens to Me, the duo's limping, Monkish arrangement of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and the almost sinister idling saunter of Jobim's How Insensitive. Iverson's powers are probably better revealed in these bare surroundings than they are in the Bad Plus. ~John Fordham

My Ideal

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Martin Speake - Change Of Heart

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2006
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:50
Size: 121,3 MB
Art: Front

(6:53) 1. The Healing Power Of Intimacy
(4:43) 2. Change of Heart
(5:29) 3. Barefaced Thieves
(4:20) 4. Venn
(9:03) 5. Buried Somewhere
(5:16) 6. In The Moment
(8:21) 7. Three Hours
(8:40) 8. In Code

One of the more interesting extra-musical things to observe in jazz is how the connections between musicians happen, and then, of course, how those connections affect the music they produce.

In 1993, Martin Speake connected with Paul Motian, and they toured as a trio with bassist Mick Hutton, playing both Speake's and Motian's compositions. Fast forward seven years to 2000 and Speake added Bobo Stenson to the group, playing and composing music that was sensitive to both Motian's and Stenson's jazz conception. Stenson's Goodbye (ECM, 2005) is a direct result of Stenson and Motian playing together in Speake's band.

A delightful album, Change Of Heart has the perfect mix of understated playing and melodies that are direct, yet full of surprising turns of phrase and varied musical development. While it's entirely comprised of Speake compositions, it sounds at times very much like Motian's Garden of Eden (ECM, 2006) in the way the floating quality of Speake's phrasing is reinforced by Motian's drums and his very cool (meaning reserved, understated and thoughtful) sound, which evokes Chris Cheek's work on the Motian album.

Thus, Speake's response to Motian is clearly audible. Stenson is remarkably adept at fitting chameleon-like into any role, still being totally himself. While he might also be described as a cool player, the pianist always adds intensity to every note and phrase he plays.

Speake's alto tone is quite interesting, and if you close your eyes, it sounds at times like a trumpet with some kind of subtle mute. His phrasing has a strong vocal quality as he sings through his horn. The album's melodies take their time to unfold, and this quality is echoed in the way the tracks proceed and how each member of the group adds to the mix, yielding music with an organic wholeness.

For me, the essence of Change Of Heart is evident in the last track, "In Code." Introduced by Hutton alone on bass, an atmosphere of mystery and suspense is created, only to be intensified by the entrance of Motian and Stenson. As Speake plays the theme, supported mostly by a pedal tone, Stenson echoes and embellishes each phrase. The music washes upon the shores as Speake jumps into a higher range, as if to try to escape from the pedal anchor. Stenson replies with a magnificent solo that encapsulates his cool blue burning intensity and leads seamlessly to Speake's recap.Simple directness, overtly beautiful, cool and compact: just wonderful.
By Budd Kopman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/change-of-heart-martin-speake-ecm-records-review-by-budd-kopman

Personnel: Martin Speake: alto saxophone; Bobo Stenson: piano; Mick Hutton: bass; Paul Motian: drums.

Change Of Heart

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Martin Speake - Two Not One

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2015
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 66:29
Size: 153,8 MB
Art: Front

(4:38) 1. Ablution
(8:03) 2. Besame Mucho
(6:39) 3. For Heavens Sake
(3:34) 4. I Found A New Baby
(4:09) 5. Coleman Hawkins
(6:39) 6. If I Had You
(4:22) 7. I'll Never Forget You
(6:02) 8. Skylark
(4:29) 9. Lester's Blues
(6:01) 10. Our Love Is Here To Stay
(4:37) 11. Happy
(2:59) 12. The Nearness Of You
(4:10) 13. Two Not One

Martin Speake's alto saxophone tone is such a beautiful thing in itself, pure and limpid, that it would be possible to float off on it without noticing what he was actually playing. This would be a pity, because his improvised lines are full of ideas and unemphatic elegance. Colin Oxley, best known for his long tenure as Stacey Kent's guitarist, makes the best possible partner, providing rich, subtle harmonies and discreet but firm rhythmic support. Outstanding in a mixed programme of originals and well-chosen standards is a marvellous two-part invention on a blues by Lester Youg.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/25/speake-oxley-two-not-one

Two Not One

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